I wish people a happy birthday on a daily basis on this site. Now it’s time for me to get on that action! Happy birthday to me! In case you are tuning in for the first time, here’s a little bit about myself: I wrote a book of “abstract poetry” in 2005 called “Sketches of Verbal Alchemy.” It’s for sale on websites like Amazon.com. My short one to 6 line “poems” predated Twitter and Status Updates and there are pearls in that book that could change your life by opening up new possibilities to age old problems. I was one of the first writers to embrace the Kindle technology and sell the book electronically and the book has afforded me experiences you couldn’t even pay for! I’ve also worked on a greatest hits CD for Prince, one of my favorite artists, where I picked out the tracks for the release “Ultimate Prince.” I’ve also written song lyrics for pop songs for singers Jim Emmons and Jeremy Gloff and I also make abstract paintings. I have a 2nd book of poetry waiting to be published as well as a coffee table book of artsy fartsy and concert photos and I will probably release those in 2012. I have also designed a line of “G-Shirts” that feature funny slogans on them such as “Being Straight Is A Choice” and “2 Deep 2 B A Sheep.” I launched According2g.com primarily because people did not believe all the crazy stories I would tell them about what I experienced the night before. Hell, if you didn’t know me, you’d think half of the stuff I just told you is bullshit, but it’s all true! The blog sort of spiraled out of control from there and I have grown the site to rank in the top 15% out of 26,000,000 websites in the world. I’ve had the great fortune of interviewing artists I admire, occasionally, I get mobbed in the streets with people wanting to take their picture with ME, and let me tell you – I am SO GRATEFUL FOR EVERY SECOND OF IT! I cannot thank my readers enough for checking in multiple times daily to read about art and music from New York and beyond. I thank you for spreading the word.

New York! You have one more day to check out a very unique art show. M.A.N.Y. (Murals Around New York) and the street art site Vandalog have put on a four day only pop up show – in an apartment! The show is entitled “Up Close and Personal” and you can get up close and personal with the works of some of the hottest street artists in the world. The show features Aiko, Chris Stain, Clown Soldier, Don Leicht, Edible Genius, Elbowtoe, Gaia, How & Nosm, Jessica Angel, John Fekner, Know Hope, Logan Hicks, Mike Ballard, OverUnder, R. Robot, Radical, Retna, Skewville, Tristan Eaton, Troy Lovegates aka Other and White Cocoa.

Gaia

“Up Close and Personal“ opens May 12th from 7-9pm. It will also be open from 7-9pm on the 13th; noon-9pm and noon-7pm on the 14th and 15th respectively. The show is taking place at 217 West 106th Street, Apartment 1A, in New York– Between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenues. I’ve been a big fan of Vandalog for a while and it was really cool to have a chance to speak with RJ Rushmore who runs the site. As you can expect, he is an encyclopedia of street art and was more than happy to chat with me about our mutual love for the genre.

Skewville

The show closes on May 15, 2011, so you only have one more day to check it out.

See some works by Elbow Toe as well as a photo of RJ Rushmore of Vandalog after the jump.